Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Moments of the Week, 6/12/13

Oh crap, it's been a while, hasn't it? Uhh...Moments of the Week! All-indie edition! GO!


Peter Panzerfaust #11
You'll recall a while back a raved about the first issue of Peter Panzerfaust, a World War II story that borrowed iconography and plot elements from J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan. I haven't talked much about it since because it hasn't wowed me as much as that first issue did. There's some good moments - I especially liked the introduction of Kapitan Haker, a.k.a. Nazi Captain Hook - but besides that the stories tend to blend together. Part of the problem is the Lost Boys themselves: we're very slowly getting details about them beyond names, but they're the stars of our story. Shouldn't we know more about them by now?

Still, this issue, the start of a new arc, has piqued my interest. See, part of the gimmick of the book is the framing device: a biographer visiting the older Lost Boys and interviewing them about their time in the French resistance with the titular Peter Panzerfaust. And because the story is told from their perspectives, it changes the tones of the events. So far our two narrators Tootles (can't remember his real name, sorry) and Julien have looked fondly on Peter and idolized him. Our new narrator, Felix, seems like the first one who's going to point out that Peter was an impulsive teenager, whose recklessness was likely to get someone killed and probably did. I'll be interested to see some more genuine and tension from a book that's done it pretty well so far.


Six-Gun Gorilla #1
Yep, I bought this one solely because of the title. It did not disappoint.

Set in the future probably, SGG follows Blue-3425, a nameless soldier on the front line of a war between his government and rebel insurgents. Blue Squadron is unique from the other soldiers in that it is entirely expendable; people join up with the expectation of death, so it's made up entirely of the suicidal, the soon-to-be-executed, or the ones that simply have nothing left to live for. Furthermore, Blue soldiers have recording devices installed in their eyes and ears, so that the front line can be streamed live to people's homes to drum up support for the government. In his first mission, 3425, amazingly, doesn't die, but nearly completes his goal before getting captured by the rebels. Then the rebels are killed by a silverback gorilla in a cloak wielding a pair of custom-fit revolvers.

Yeah.

Honestly, I am interested, partially by the world and partially by the characters. 3425 doesn't much going for him so far, but we know he was a librarian, and we know why he joined Blue Squadron: his wife left him, he lost his house, and he really has nothing going for him, except maybe dying and leaving his payday to his close relatives. Also, gorilla with revolvers. Gotta see where they go with that.

SGG is a good example of how to do world-building right. Our next one, not so much.


The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #1
Alright, bear with me as I attempt to decipher the plot here. Ahem...

It's the future again. There's a city. It's called Battery City. It's one of those huge-ass metropolis's run by corrupt corporations you'd find in any good cyberpunk. Outside of Bat City is the Desert, a lawless frontier where people labeled undesirable by Better Living Industries exist. Some time ago, there was a group of rebels called the Killjoys, who tried to revolt against BLI and all died, except for the Girl, a six-year-old who was expected to do something important someday maybe. Some time later and the Girl is now a teenager and falls in with a new group of rebels, who are less interested in revolution and more interested in protecting themselves from BLI's scarecrows (Don't know what those are), as well as the Draculoids, a roaming group of marauders/cultists who can indoctrinate people into murder frenzies by making them put on creepy masks. There's also a subplot that takes place in the slums of Bat City about a drug-addict lesbian android hooker.

WHAT THE CUSS DID I JUST READ?!

Really, the reason I bought this was that last name at the bottom of the cover. Becky Cloonan is an artist who hasn't worked much in the industry, but when she does, she produces some fantastic work. If you want more proof, go read Batman Annual #1 or Swamp Thing #0. And while I had no idea what was going on in this book, it at least looked really unique and really good. I'll keep following this, mostly to get more Cloonan artwork, and partially to see if I can decipher what the hell is going on here.

**EDIT: I just found out that this series is an apparent follow-up to Danger Days, an album/story by Killjoy's writer, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. I did not know this, the comic did not make it clear. Maybe I'll actually listen to it and get the plot. Maybe I'll read the Wikipedia summary instead. Who knows (probably the second one, though).

Thanks for reading everybody and I'll see you next time!

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